Lessons Upon Lessons
by Kayjoel
Summary: Alex Russo is in a serious fix, as she faces jeprody of being banished completely from the wizard competiton and loosing her powers. Can she put aside her pride to allow herself to be tutored by a most disliked tutorer and obey W.C.orders? PS ch.6 is fixd
1. Chapter 1

**Some of you who have been up here for a while may recognize this story. That's because it's been up here before. I wrote it and posted it months ago, but for some reason, problems evolved with it, and it was unable to add anymore ch. So I took it off, and now have found time to repost it. For those of you who have not read it before...**

**Hope you enjoy **

**Please, please R&R :)**

* * *

Alex Russo sat on her bed, contemplating the situation at hand. Her father, Jerry Russo, stood in the doorway of her bedroom with arms crossed and jaw set. His face was stern and his lips pursed. All of his sympathetic emotion that he so often showered upon his daughter in the face of such frequent circumstances was gone. No smirks, no smiles, only sobriety. No amount of buttering-up and no chance that the best of her puppy-dog-looks would get her out of this fix.

Alex looked down at the completed, thirteen page, wizard exam that Jerry had tossed on her lap a few seconds ago. Every answer was filled in, but no less than fifteen of the twenty questions on each page were incorrect.

Alex's eyes shifted from the exam to her father, who darted his eyes from hers back to the failed test. Alex bit her lip.

"I'm sorry daddy…but…"

"But what?" asked Jerry sharply. His face and physical posture was unchanging. Only his mouth moved.

"I promise, if the Wizard Counsel will let me retake the test, I'll pass it this time."

"This time," Jerry repeated, cocking his head smartly to the right. "What makes you think you get a second chance?"

"I…"

"Tell me Alex," Jerry cut her off. "Do you think that everything that goes on in this world revolves around _your_ set of rules?"

Alex didn't answer. The tone in her father's voice was startling. He hadn't talked or acted towards her like this in a long time. So harsh and so insensitive. It reminded her of the instance when she wanted her father to teach her how to fly the magic carpet. Then, his actions could have been dubbed unjust and unfair. But now, in fairness of all things considered, Alex had undisputedly done all that was necessary to warrant such aggressive reproof.

"I guess you think there's a second chance for everything in life don't you?" Jerry continued. The two questions had been rhetorical. He hadn't really expected her to answer and probably would have been displeased with any one she gave him. So he continued.

"Reality check Alex…no there isn't! Life is not an endless cycle that throws you chance, after chance, after chance to correct careless, much less, stupid mistakes!" Alex's countenance fell dramatically. She swallowed and shifted her tear-swelling eyes.

"Dad I…I'm sorry." Jerry's expression lightened a shade. Her unintentional "puppy-dog-look" that always broke out across her face when she started to cry was ripping her father's heart to pieces. But a serious and insensitive countenance was the only thing capable of driving the gravity of this matter home with his daughter. Or so he hoped.

Alex had always been one to earn the favor and approval of her father on certain issues through manipulation of his feelings (puppy-dog faces, buttering up, schmoozing, etc.). Though she rarely had such luck with her mother, Jerry was a sucker for it every time. He knew this just as well as anyone else in the family and therefore, allowed Theresa to do most of the disciplining and rule making when it came to Alex. He would only implement the rules that Theresa had already laid out, being that second wall of enforcement behind the stanch barrier of Alex's mother.

But now, it was his turn to be stanch and unwavering. He couldn't let his love as a merciful father over take his love as a disciplining father (which he had allowed to happen too many times over). Though his expression softened, he still retained a sense of sobriety.

"I have no doubt that you're very sorry," He continued. "But sorry won't make that "F" turn into and "A." Alex smirked, reached down into her boot and pulled out her wand.

"But magic will," she said through a cracked voice. She was attempting to pull off her "lightening-the-mood" act. Jerry's expression hardened. Her smirk vanished and she laid the wand beside her on the bed.

"Well, you can forget that option anyway," said Jerry. "I don't think you'll be keeping your magical powers much longer." Alex's eyes widened.

"What?"

"As a matter of fact," her father continued, "Don't even get your hopes up about competing against your brothers in the Full Wizard Competition this weekend."

"What? Daddy, you can't be serious!"

Tears swelled in Jerry's eyes. There was something he wasn't telling her. Alex rose from the bed. The exam papers fell to the floor.

"Daddy!" Her voice had a sense of pleading. Jerry stared into his daughter's eyes. Tears trickled down both their faces.

"It's not my decision," he said, voice breaking. "The Wizard Counsel has declared that your lack of responsibility and failure to attempt a passing grade in your classes at Wiztech has warranted and full retraction of your powers in three days. Thursday. You've also been disqualified from the Full Wizard Competition until further notice."

"No! No!" Alex pleaded, eyes glazed with tears. "They can't do this?"

"I'm afraid they can sweetheart."

"No! But why just me? Why not Max too? He's no better than I am!"

"The Wizard Counsel sees your brother's lack of proficiency in his wizarding skills as a mental defect rather than a fluke in character."

"So their saying Max is retarded?"

"Dose that really matter right now? Alex, do you realize what could happen to you in the next few days?"

"Yes, yes I do, and I don't want this! Please daddy. Get the Counsel to change their minds."

"I have little if any power of speech in the Wizard Counsel. I'm a deposed wizard. They practically want nothing to do with me. I'm the one they blame for this sentence they've placed on you."

"No, it's not your fault," Alex cried. "It's mine. And if you can get the counsel to recant their sentence I promise…"

"I told you I had no say in this."

"I can change!"

"Can you?"

"What?" Alex, through her sobbing had not heard her father clearly.

"Can you? Whether or whether not the counsel will recant is totally up to you."

"What do you mean?" asked Alex, wiping her tear stained cheeks. Jerry signed heavily, blowing off a weight of mixed emotions before continuing.

"On Thursday, the day your powers are to be taken away, Wiztech is holding a Spell Caster Competition. For all the other students competing, it's simply a matter of fun. But for you, it's much more than that." Jerry paused, and then continued. "Your brother Justin is competing in the competition also. The Counsel has decreed that if you compete and win or tie with Justin in the Spell Caster Competition, not only will you be allowed to keep your powers, but you will also be reinstated into the Full Wizard Competition."

Alex's heart sunk. She might as well have gone ahead and broken her wand then and there. She flung her had backwards and rolled her eyes.

"You know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Dad, you know, and I know, that Justin would crush me in a spell caster competition."

"Maybe not."

"How?" asked Alex, as she walked over to her bed and picked up her wand. She held it with both hands, hugging it to her chest. Her back was turned to Jerry.

"Are you ready for this?" her father asked. Alex wasn't sure if she was ready to hear what he was going to say or not, but she gave a response out of instinct.

"Yes. Anything to keep my powers."

"In order to make the competition fair between you and your brother, Justin will tutor you for the next two days on the entire collection of spell subjects that will be presented in the competition." Alex turned and faced Jerry, her eyes wide.

"Justin…tutor…" she stammered. "I'm gonna have to be tutored by…Justin?"

"Yes."

Alex let her hands rest at her sides. She set her jaw and pursed her lips. Her expression was quite similar to the one her father had held a few minutes ago when he had first approached her with the news of her failed exam. Now she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Competing against her brother, Justin, a test of skill which was sure to end in failure (her failure), was bad enough. But being forced under his tutelage was a whole different story. She would be outdone by him twice! Alex began to wonder if keeping her powers was worth this kind of humiliation.

"I know what you're thinking," said Jerry. Alex remained unspeaking. "You're thinking that your brother has been waiting forever for this very moment to prove his superiority over you and act in condescendence against you. Am I right?" Alex nodded, lips curled in. "Well, you couldn't be further from the truth. I've already discussed the matter with Justin and he is more than happy about being your tutor."

"Yeah, happy about showing me up," spat Alex. "And when did we agree that we were actually going through with this."

"The moment you said you would do anything to keep your powers."

"I meant anything but this."

Jerry signed, shoved his hands into his pockets, and sauntered over to where his daughter stood. There eyes locked. "Alex, it's your choice. You can forget we ever had this conversation, reject the counsel's merciful extension to you and loose your powers forever; or, you can put away your stubborn pride and accept your brother's gracious agreement to tutor you, compete in the Spell Caster Competition and possibly keep your powers to continue on into the Full Wizard Competition. It's your choice.

So that was what it all boiled down to…keep or loose her powers. But either way, even if she did compete against Justin, there was still a possibility that she could loose her powers if she lost the competition (which was not very unlikely). With that thought in mind, Alex begin to wonder if there really was any reason to go through with this. Why not save herself the extra humiliation. She knew that she would most likely loose the spell caster competition and loose her powers anyway. But then again, Alex did know a thing or two about magic that Justin didn't. It wasn't too much more, but possibly just enough to give her a running chance. And with his extra skills added to her own, Alex began wonder if she might just make for a arduous opponent against her older brother. All things considered, there was a sizable possibility that she might actually beat Justin! Alex was also thinking about how many times, in her future that lay head, she would look back on this moment with regret. How ticked would she be, knowing the rest of her life that she could have possibly pulled this off, but didn't even try.

Alex took a deep breath and sighed. Then she reached out and wrapped her arms around her father. He retuned the embrace. Her actions spoke louder than the words that she mumbled against his chest. Jerry smiled, hugging his daughter tighter to himself.

"That's my girl."


	2. Chapter 2

"Will you be having fries with that," Justin politely asked the customer sitting at the table in front of him.

"Yes, please."

"Thank you ma'am. Your order will be ready in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

Justin ripped three tickets out of the notebook and slapped them on the counter in front of Max.

"Take care of these orders will you." Max, who leaned on the counter, chin resting on his fists, looked blankly at the tickets.

"All of these?" he asked lazily.

"It's only three!"

"Yeah, three more that I want to take. Why can't you do it?"

"Because I have to get ready for me and Alex's first tutoring session." He said this with a boastful smirk before striding arrogantly into kitchen. Max snatched up the tickets with an eye roll and followed Justin.

"I don't think Alex is as happy as you are about this whole thing," Max said rambling through an out-of-place cabinet in the corner. "Or happy at all for that matter."

Justin stepped over to the meat locker and removed his smooth, wooden wand from his back pocket. He pointed it at the big metal door. There was a _whooshing_ sound as light blasted from between the cracks where the door and the doorposts met. It swung open to reveal The Lair.

"Well, she better learn to like it," said Justin, returning the wand to his back pocket. "Because I'm Alex's only chance, as well as her only detriment, of her ever regaining her powers." Then he added with a smirk, "Like it really matters. It's not like she, or even you for that matter, stand any chance against me in the final, wizard competition this weekend."

Max finally drew his own wand from the cabinet, which was what he had initially rambled through the cabinet for in the first place. He faced his older brother, aware of his challenging comments. With the flick of his wrist, he pointed the wand at the kitchen counter. The room came alive with levitating bread loaves, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sliced turkey, ham, french-fries, spoons, forks, bowls, cups, trays and all manner of sandwich components and restaurant utensils. Even the drinks, Coke, Water and Tea, levitated from the spouts of the soda machines in coagulated globs across the room. They converged on the kitchen counter. Sandwiches made themselves, liquids landed in cups, and salads fell into bowls. The completed meals jumped on the trays and flew over to where Max still pointed his wand, landing exactly in front of the magical utensil.

Justin stared at the three, completed and accurately prepared ticket orders that he had given to Max just a moment ago. He was quite taken aback by this random but extraordinarily well executed act of magic that his little brother had managed to pull off.

Max picked up the trays and headed for the dinning center. But not before shooting his brother an impish look which was meant to say "We'll see Justin. We'll see."

Justin raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive," he mumbled as he entered The Lair. And he meant it.

As Justin stepped into The Lair, he heard the sound of rushing air and a sudden _pop_! The wizard mail shot across the room and landed in Jerry's chair.

"Just in time." Justin picked up the cylinder and pulled off the lid. He'd been expecting wizard mail. Reaching into the opening, which was only four inches in diameter, he magically pulled forth a leather-bound book eight inches wide. The title read, _The Spell Caster Competition for Dummies_. Justin chuckled at the titled. He couldn't have picked a better study guide for his little sister. Literally. Justin's own study material would have no doubt been over her head. So, he'd settled with the basics.

No doubt his sister would take offence at the picked study guide but really what else was he to do? By Alex's own testimony of actions, she was no where near ready to take on his advanced wizard textbooks. If she wished to move up in level she would have to prove herself. This, Justin was most definitely not expecting.

To be honest, Justin wished that he could expect more from his sister. He would have liked it if Alex didn't always have to be pushed to do everything, especially when it came to magic. He wished that he had an equal among his siblings as far as wizardry went. Justin liked a good challenge, and an equally challenging sibling to practice magic with would have helped to make him a better wizard. Then again, Alex's magic-caused mayhem did present challenges of its own.

He thought about how easy it would be to win the final wizard competition. It kind of disappointed him that he would achieve victory without a suitable challenge in which he would be able to display the best of his magic skills. Justin saw his siblings as pathetic competition. He had no doubt whatsoever that he _would be _the Family Wizard.

With these thoughts in his mind, he had originally seen no reason in actually helping his sister (he also saw her as undeserving of his help). In a few days it wouldn't matter. He would win the Full Wizard Competition and both she and Max would loose their powers forever. Even if he did help her to prepare for the Spell Caster Competition, it wasn't like she actually stood a chance of beating him, or even tying with him. She would still loose her powers. But his father had helped him to see that it was only right that Justin help give Alex a running chance in both competitions, no matter how it _seemed_ things would turn out.

"And who knows," Jerry had said. "Your brother and sister might just turn out to be more than you can handle." Justin had originally considered the very notion laughable. But suddenly, he began to wonder if possibly there might be any substance in his father's comment. Besides, that levitation spell Max had executed a moment ago had been quite "impressive," to put it in Justin's own words. He'd never seen Max do anything like that before, and he had a feeling that there was a lot more tricks he had up his sleeve that Justin wouldn't know about until the Full Wizard Competition. The thought both excited and worried him. If Max was a better wizard on the inside than he appeared to be on the outside, he might just be the challenge for Justin.

But could that be possible? How could Max all of the sudden _learn_ to be good at magic? Maybe he hadn't learned. Maybe he had just figured it out. Max was known for that. Though he seemed incapable of _learnin_g anything beyond elementary magic, he often came up with spells on his own that could be qualified as advanced level magic. The levitation spell was a prime example.

And what of Alex? Could she possibly pull through to be a worthy opponent? Part of Justin hoped so. But then, another part of him hoped not. As he further considered the question, he began to assume that the answer would most definitely be a yes. Alex wasn't stupid, she was just lazy. Though she might often issue a spell for the wrong reason, she didn't usually issue the wrong spell. Though the results may not have been what she intended, Alex usually knew what she was doing and did it on purpose. With her own wits, combined with Justin's knowledge that he was about to bestow on her, she could most definitely prove to be a challenge.

Justin began to wonder if by chance he might have underestimated Alex and Max. Though he would probably never know with Max, (because he could be so random and hard to read) until the competition, just how powerful he really was, Justin would be able to get an early heads up on Alex's capabilities at the Spell Caster Competition. If she lost, it wouldn't matter. The battle would be between him and Max. If she tied with him, he would consider her a worthy but possibly (and most likely) beatable opponent. If she won, which was most unlikely (or so Justin hoped), he would be forced to think differently concerning his sister's power. _Very_ differently.


	3. Chapter 3

"_The Spell Caster Competition for Dummies_?" Alex threw the book back on the desk staring angrily at her older brother. Justin held her gaze, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"And what's so funny?" she snapped. Alex was obviously offended. He had expected as much.

"Look, Alex, it was the only thing I could find with lessons easy enough and fast enough to teach you everything you need to know within two days."

"Why couldn't we just use one of your study manuals?" asked Alex.

Justin snorted. "Please, like you could actually understand any of my manuals."

"Excuse me, but I think your being unfair. You're assuming that I wouldn't be able to understand the material. You haven't even given me a chance."

"And waste our two days? Don't think so."

Alex's face reddened, and Justin wondered if perhaps he might have gone a bit too far with his domineering comments. He sobered up and took on a more serious countenance.

"Look, Alex, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. But I honestly _do not _think that you can learn _everything_ my books have to offer in two days!"

"Well, I think you should give us a chance to find out. Don't you?"

"Alex, do realize how serious this is? You're on the brink of loosing your powers and you're more concerned about proving yourself to someone."

"Not just anyone. _You_ Justin."

"What?"

"That's right, _you_!" Justin stared awkwardly at Alex as she strode casually from behind the desk over to where he stood.

"You see, I know what you're thinking."

"What's that?" asked Justin nervously; like a boy caught in the middle of doing something he knew he shouldn't be doing.

"You think that this whole thing is pointless. Not that I don't like this anymore than you do, but _you_ see this whole situation for me as a lost cause." She sounded like an attorney preparing to throw one on his/her opponent. "You're thinking that one of two things is gonna happen. Either you're going to beat me in the Spell Caster Competition and I'm gonna loose my powers, or you're gonna beat me in the final, Full Wizard Competition and I'm gonna loose my powers; one of the two; most likely the first. Am I right?"

Justin didn't answer. He held his sister probing stare, wondering if this was finally the challenge he had been waiting for. Was this the real, competitive wizard in Alex that Justin had always wanted? Not that they weren't competitive already when it came to things other than magic.

Alex had never seemed to care whether or not she would win the Full Wizard Competition. She seemed to always care only about the "here-and-now"; having her powers "here-and-now." But suddenly faced with the crisis of looses her powers forever on more than one front, the "get-serious-about-magic" part of Alex was starting to shine through, coming out of its hidden shell at full force.

Alex continued. "Therefore, you think there's no use in even having these sessions because you think that I'm gonna loose my powers one way or the other."

There was a few moments silence before she continued. "Well, let me tell you something Justin. I'm the challenge that you never saw coming." And in all honesty, he hadn't. He had only hoped. "I'm ready to take on anything you're willing to throw at me," continue Alex. Then she looked at the book lying on the desk that Justin had purchased for her. "Anything but that."

Justin liked this. _This_ was the Alex he had been waiting to see. It would make his victory all the more glorious. The thought of being forced into a position of actually having to _try_ to win the competition excited him. This would mean an even more grand display of his magical skills. That was, if Alex was actually serious about taking on _his_ advanced study material.

"So, you think you're up to the challenge?" asked Justin, walking over to one of the many bookshelves in The Lair and inspecting the book spines for titles.

"I _know_ I'm up for the challenge." Justin smiled as he removed two enormous volumes from the shelf and slammed them down on the desk behind Alex. She turned around, startled by the sudden _bang_!

"Well then," said Justin, leaning over the two books. "We had better get down to business." He opened the first book. The dry, leather spine cracked as Justin flipped through the pages of the ancient book. Alex walked over and stood beside him.

"You think you've got the competition all wrapped up Justin, but I'm here to prove you wrong. You're not the only Russo who knows how to put his magic where his mouth is…or her."

Justin raised an eyebrow. What on earth had sparked such a determined spirit within his sister so suddenly? She had always been stubborn, but rarely (if at all) "determined." The tone of her voice screamed "confidence." Her eyes flashed with an eagerness to devour magical knowledge. Even before Justin could begin an introduction into the lesson, her eyes were scanning the pages, taking in the vast labyrinth of spells, symbols and strange phrases that she had never seen or heard.

"Getting ahead of the teacher, aren't we?" asked Justin. Alex replied without even looking up from book.

"If I'm going to win this thing, I'm gonna have to stay one step of ahead of the competition." She turned to Justin. "That means even if the competition is my tutor."

Justin chuckled arrogantly as he removed his wand from his back pocket. "You can take as many steps as you want Alex. Run even if you'd like." He flicked the wand in the air. The point flashed with a brilliant, blue intensity. There was a crack of ominous thunder and lightning seemed to flash around them. "But you can _never_ take down the masters."

Alex held her brothers gaze. Her lips formed an impish smile. Justin had seen this look before; that unnerving grin that was meant to say…

"Well see Justin. We'll see."


	4. Chapter 4

Alex _knew_ what she was about. If she had to be tutored by her older brother, she was at least going to make it worth while. Alex was determined that she would not let Justin show her up. She knew that he thought that he was unbeatable. She _would_ prove him wrong. She _would_ learn. She _would_ win the Spell Caster Competition and she _would_ be the Family Wizard. Alex was preparing to throw her brother a fast ball that he would have never seen coming from a million miles away. Sure during the next two days she would have her mistakes. Sure there were things that she had to learn. Sure Justin would see the unintelligent part of her (not that he didn't always see that part of her). But she also knew for _sure_ that she would overcome and win the Final Full Wizard Competition.

"Magneticus Metallicus." Justin pointed to the spell he had written on the green chalkboard. "It is a simple but powerful spell. Have you ever heard this phrase before Alex?"

"Well…" she started.

"Of course you haven't." Justin cut her off. "Magneticus Metallicus is a magical phrase formed by Barrulicus Megglesmoff, an ancient French wizard of the 1600's. He was born to a family of non-wizards and was the only child of his household. Therefore, he was never required to participate in the Final Full Wizard Competition. During his lifetime (which still continues on to this day; you know, wizards are immortal), he developed an immense vernacular of spells that he recorded and published in the _Megglesmoff Elite Spell Casting Primer_ in 1867. Of those spells was the simple but powerful Magneticus Metallicus. What prompted…?"

"Justin!" Alex snapped.

"What?"

"You don't have to give me a history lesson on every spell. At this rate I'll have not learned anything by Thursday. Just tell me what the spell dose and how to do it!"

"The greatest wizards must know and understand the history and the origins of what they are learned. It helps to develop a…"

"Look, Justin. I don't really care to be the greatest. I just want to be the best. Last I checked you don't have to know history to do that."

"Really?" Justin shot an ok-Miss-smarty-pants grin.

"Mmmhmm. Take me for instance. I'm the best at being bad, and no one had to teach me how to do it or give me history lessons on "the-ancient- chronicles-of-being-bad."

Justin frowned at her sarcasm. "Who's the tutor here?"

"Well, _you're_ supposed to be. But the thing is you're not tutoring me. You're teaching me. I don't have time to be taught."

"Tutoring _is_ teaching."

"Well, that's not the way I see it."

"Well, maybe the way you see it is the wrong way to look at it."

"Well, maybe I like looking at it the wrong way."

"Well, maybe that's why you're in the position you're in right now, Alex; because you like to look at everything "the wrong way." You know if you tried doing things the right way once in a while, you would have a lot less problems. Heck, we all would have a lot less problems."

"Who's all?"

"This whole family!"

"So, you think that I'm the one who causes all the problems this family?"

"I _know_ you're the one who causes ALL of the problems in this family!" Justin yelled. "You're constant troublemaker! Because of _you_, this family is nothing but chaos." He was still yelling. "We get restricted from magic because of _you_! We are continuously in fear of our wizard identities being exposed because of _you_! You're lazy! You don't even _try_ to do things right! You don't seem to care about anyone else but yourself!" He was _still_ yelling. "And…" Justin stopped, finger pointing accusingly at Alex. Were those tears in her eyes? _O boy_. He'd gone too far (again).

Alex bit her lip, tears brimming her eyelids. Justin dropped his finger, sighing heavily.

"Alex…I…"

"Forget it!" She screeched. "Just forget the whole thing!" Her wand hit the floor, and before Justin could stop her, the lair door slammed shut.

Justin grit his teeth and hurled the spell book across the room with a shout. It hit the wall with a _smack_ and thudded to the floor. He gripped his hair, mumbling furiously in rapid Spanish. This was going to be harder than he thought. _Much_ harder.


	5. Chapter 5

"Dad, I can't do this!" thundered Justin as he bounded into the substation dining center. Jerry stood at a table near the checkout counter waiting on a young couple. He was just about to take their order when his eldest son came marching into the station from out of the kitchen. His daughter had preceded Justin in the same manner just 4 minutes ago; except she had left the dinning center without breaking a stride and thundered up to the loft. Needless to say, she had drawn the attention of many customers who had bulldozed Jerry with questions concerning his employee's rotten attitude. And now his eldest son (also an employee) was bounding through the station yelling to the top of his lungs. Jerry could only hope that luck would play him through this fix without any embarrassment (not that he wasn't embarrasses enough already).

"Just a minute son," Jerry said in quiet voice, smiling wide at the customers in front of him. They returned friendly (but awkward) smiles.

"May I take your order please," he asked without looking at his son. The boyfriend of the couple started.

"I would like a…"

"But dad this can't wait!" Justin blurted. Jerry clinched his smiling teeth.

"Son, please…" he returned his attention to the costumers. The young man looked annoyed.

"As I was say, I would like a foot-long with everything, a large fry, a super-sized Coke with…"

"Dad I can't take this!" Justin interrupted. "Alex is impossible! She'll never be able to keep her wizard powers and this rate." Justin's eyes widened. _Ooops_. Jerry turned his head slowly to face his son. If his eyes had been pistols, Justin would have been dead. Had he just told the entire substation that his sister was a wizard?!?

The couple exchanged concerned and confused glances.

"Excuse me, but did you just say your sister was going to loose her wizard powers?" asked the young lady. The whole station resounded with the sound of whispering lips. They all looked suspiciously at Justin and his dad. Jerry could only imagine what they were saying. His face went from an enraged frown to an over exaggerated smile.

"What?" he asked with a fake chuckle. "Of course not!"

"Yes he did." said the girl matter-of-factly. "They all heard you." She motioned at the numerous customers who nodded in agreement. Jerry laughed hysterically (harsh, breathy, fake laughs).

"Have you ever had one of those moments when you thought you heard one thing but it actually turned out to be another?" He asked. The entire audience nodded, but their faces still said "we-know-what-we-heard."

"Well, this is one of those moments." Jerry's smile widened. He hoped that his excuse would suffice the peoples want for more answers. He should have known better.

"No," the girl persisted. "We know what we heard."

"Yeah," retorted her boyfriend rising from his seat. "What do you mean 'wizard powers'?" Are you saying…?" He froze in mid-sentence, lips poised for the next word. His girlfriend also sat petrified, her eyes opened and her mouth formed to say something. Jerry and Justin looked around them. Everyone and everything in the substation was frozen in a time-lock. It was as if someone had pushed the pause button on life, and now everything was frozen in place; petrified in mid-motion.

"Justin, what did you just do?"

"It wasn't me dad. I swear!"

"No, I did."

Jerry and Justin turned in the direction of the voice. Alex stood on the bottom step of the loft staircase. Her wand was outstretched and the small, crystal bulb at the end of it glowed with a yellow-green intensity.

"Time-lock spell," she said flatly. The wand ceased from glowing but time still remained locked. "Getting into trouble again with that big mouth aren't we Justin?"

"Please, like you've never put our wizard identities at jeopardy."

"Unlike you Justin, I can cover my tracks and sew up the loose ends."

"Unlike you Alex, I don't have any loose ends to sew or baggage tracks to cover because unlike you, I do things the right way, the first time."

Jerry sighed. "Ok. What is going on between you two?"

"Well," said Justin, "I came in here to talk to you but…"

"But instead you nearly exposed magic to the mortal world," finished Alex. "Way to go Justin."

"Alex, just _shut up _and leave me and dad to talk _alone_!

"And let you make me look bad first? Ha! Ha! I don't think so."

"You seem to be able to do that on your own without any help from me."

"I can learn my own magic without your help too! This is exactly why I came down here." Alex turned to her father. "Dad, this isn't working." She pointed at Justin. "Butthead over here is impossible to work with."

"Coming from the queen of buttheads herself," retorted Justin.

"Whooow! Whow! Enough with the name calling," yelled Jerry.

"What's all the commotion about?" asked Max as he descended the loft staircase, followed my Theresa.

"Alex and Justin Russo, if this is another one of your…" The words died in Theresa's throat when she saw that the entire substation was in a time-lock. Her mouth contorted into a cold frown before bursting into an explosive rambling of Spanish vernacular. When she had run out of breath, she inhaled deeply before continuing her mad spew of words.

"I have told you time, and time, and time again. No magic in this building! If I've told you one time, I've told you a thousand. But dose anyone listen to me? Noooooo, they don't! I swear this magic verses mortal life is going to drive me insane! I don't know how much more I can take."

"Theresa…" Jerry tried to calm his wife.

"What!" she exploded.

"Just calm down. It's ok."

"No! It's not ok. Because I've said it time, and time, and time again. No magic in this building! But yet you continue to do it over, and over, and over, and over, and over…"

"Theresa…"

"…And over, and over, and over…" she inhaled. "…And over, and over, and…"

"Theresa!"

"What!"

"Will you just calm down!" Theresa stared at her husband for a long time before thundering up the stairwell, mumbling furiously in Spanish.

Max watched his mother march past him up to the loft before commenting half to himself and half to everyone that could hear it…

"Ok. That was awkward." And with that, he trotted back up the stairs behind Theresa.

Jerry turned his attention to his two, eldest children. Only the love of a father kept him from killing them right then and there.

"Now look what you did! You've really upset your mother this time."

"It was her fault," shot Justin looking at Alex. "We wouldn't even be in this mess had you been a little bit more cooperative."

"And maybe I'd be a little bit more cooperative if you wouldn't be such a pain in the butt!" snapped Alex. Justin raised his finger to comment, but Jerry cut him off.

"Look, that's enough out of both of you!" The two siblings fell silent.

"Alex, Justin, listen to yourselves. You're supposed to be brother and sister, but yet you're acting like mortal enemies."

"It's hard to tell the difference sometimes," spat Alex.

"You're-telling-me. But it shouldn't be this way between the two of you. You're siblings. You're supposed to stick up for one another, not try to kill each other." He said this with such a conviction, and with such a sense of sobriety, that Alex was forced to think that her father actually thought they intended to kill each other! The thought had never crossed her mind (or even Justin's for that matter).

She swallowed. "Dad, this is just sibling rivalry. Sure we may_ feel _like killing each other sometimes but we'd never actually do it."

"How do you know?" The siblings were taken aback by this question. Was their father actually implying that they were on the brink of literally _killing_ each other?

Justin chuckled nervously. "Dad, you don't really think that I would actually kill Alex do you?"

"Or that I would kill Justin?" asked Alex. The thought nearly brought tears to her eyes. Though at times she hated her brother, she would never have even contemplated killing him.

Justin felt the same way about Alex. Sure they were a pain in each other's butt, but that was just part of being siblings…wasn't it?

"How do you know!?!" Asked Jerry even more emphatically. The truth be told, they didn't know. They had only assumed. But surly they would never even think of killing each other…would they?

"Dad, I think you're kinda exaggerating. I would never kill Justin."

"Nor I Alex."

"I mean, I know we butt heads but…but killing? No, that not us. I mean…" she looked at Justin. "You're still my brother."

There was a long period of eerie silence before Jerry continued playing psychologist with his kids.

"Look guys," said Jerry. "I'm going to tell you a story about me, your aunt Megan, and your uncle Kelbo. It's a story I never told you because…well…to be honest…I'd always hoped I'd never have to." Justin and Alex swallowed hard. Guilt was painted on both their faces.

Jerry leaned on the counter and began his tale.

"I was 16 years old…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Readers, I know that Megan's pure hatred for her little brother Kelbo seems sudden and uncalled for, but a thousands other events (that I will not mention in this story) have lead up to this explosive moment. This little inaction of Kelbo will kind of be like the straw that breaks to camel's back so to speak. By the way, Jerry is 16, Megan is 15 and Kelbo is 12 (I know, big age difference with Kelbo, but I like it that way). ENJOY!**

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**Update 2/1/10 **

**Readers, I am sooo sorry. Most of you have read this story with only HALF of ch. 6. Stupid me forgot to upload ALL of ch. 6 when I reuploaded the story. Please!! Forgive me. Hopefully things will be a little bit more clear now lol :)**

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"Eeeeahhhhughhhhhhhhh!"

Megan's screech reverberated throughout the whole house.

_Crash_!!!!

Then came the sound of shattering glass and breaking dishes. Jerry thundered up the stairs, bolted down the hall and burst into his sister's bedroom.

"What? What?" he yelled as he flung the door open. It slammed into the wall behind it. Megan sat on the edge of her bed with her legs pulled up and her chin resting on her knees. She looked terrified.

"What's going on?" Megan pointed furiously at the floor in front of Jerry. He looked down and saw the reason why his sister had screamed bloody-murder. Amongst the fragments of broken plate and shattered glass was an enormous globe of oozing, slimy, pale grubs wallowing in a dark red substance that looked like blood. The sight was enough to make even Jerry feel nauseous.

"Where did that come from?" He asked, looking away from the squirming bunch of maggoty grubs. Megan answered through sobs.

"I…it…It _was_ spaghetti and punch but…" She paused, and her face went from fear to pure hatred.

"Kelbo!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed to the top of her lungs. Kelbo appeared in the doorway beside Jerry.

"You called dearest sister?" he asked, mischief written all over his face.

"Did you do this!?!" she spat.

"That's what I like about you Megan. You'd know my work from a mile away." He grinned wickedly. Before Kelbo could react and Jerry could stop her, Megan whipped out her wand and swung it at Kelbo.

"_My stupid, annoying brother is not. Let a guinea pig fill his spot._"

_ZAP_!!!

Kelbo was instantly transformed into a little brown guinea pig.

"Megan!" exclaimed Jerry.

"What? Did you see what he did to my food?" She was practically yelling. "I was just about to take in a mouth-full when all of the sudden _bam_! Fresh spaghetti becomes a ton of beetle grubs, and my punch turns to blood!"

"It was just a joke Megan."

"A joke! You call that a joke! _That _was a sick prank!"

"Megan please! You're exaggerating."

"Exaggerating? I am not exaggerating!" she screeched. "That little jerk of a brother could have killed me!"

"Megan, you need to calm down. Now change Kelbo back."

"Why? He can't be a little brat as long as he's in that condition."

"Megan, come on. Be a good sport. It was just a joke."

"Jerry, why do you always stick up for him? He's just as annoying to you as he is to me."

"Maybe so, but he's _is _our little brother. He's suppose to be annoying and we're suppose to be able to deal with it."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing Jerry, I can't deal with it any longer! I'm tired it! You hear me! Tired of it!" Megan was yelling again.

"Megan, please calm down."

"No! No, I will not calm down until I have rid myself of that stupid, jerkish little brat of a brother!" Megan rose from the bed and instantly conjured up an enormous hammer. Jerry's eyes widened. Was Megan actually going to attempt to smash their brother with a hammer? Apparently so. She raised the instrument above her head and stepped over towards the guinea pig (their brother). Jerry flicked his flinger and the hammer vanished out of his sisters hands just as she was about to bring it down upon their brother. The sudden lose of original weight sent Megan into a unbalanced state. Her feet tangled and she toppled to the floor.

Jerry pulled out his own wand and quickly rambled off the reverse phrase, transforming Kelbo back into his original, annoying self. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead, and his eyes were wide in amazement. Had his big sister actually attempted to kill him? No. It had to have been a joke. She would never do something like that...would she?

Kelbo found it hard to keep the tears away. His eyes became glassy as he stared at his sister on the floor. The look on her face screamed "I hate you!!"

"What were you thinking?" yelled Jerry helping Kelbo to his feet. "Were you actually going to kill him with that thing?" Megan didn't answer, and that's what scared Jerry the most. He couldn't believe that such an imagination had even entered his sister's mind. Sure they had had their problems with Kelbo, but had his mischievousness warranted this?

Megan rose slowly to her feet. Her eyes were red. Not from tears, but from shier hatred, all aimed at her little bother. The words seeped between her lips like a serpent hiss.

"I hate you!"

Jerry slammed his hand down on the dresser next to the doorway.

"Megan, _shut up_! That's enough!"

Megan shot Kelbo one last deadly stare before vanishing in a blast of radiance.

Jerry closed his eyes. A warm tear trickled down his face. Had his sister actually stooped this low? He never knew that Megan hated Kelbo so much. His annoyances had driven her to near murder! A hand gripped his shoulder. Jerry turned and looked at his little brother. A tear stained his cheek.

"She wouldn't have really hit me with that hammer...would she?"

"No. No, of course not."

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**Don't be disappointed readers. This isn't the end of Jerry's tale.**


	7. Chapter 7

It had to have been three in the morning when Jerry felt it. A magical 6th sense told him that someone in the house was using forbidden magic. Who? He had no idea. It could have been any rogue wizard attempting to perform some kind of terrible, magical feat upon his household. It wouldn't have been the first time. You could never be too sure in the wizard world. Evil, power-hungry wizards roamed the magic realm like thieves roam the mortal realm. Though thieves were out to steal material valuables, rouge wizards preferred to steal other wizard's powers. That was why Jerry always cast a magic-sensor spell upon himself every night before he went to sleep. The performance of the slightest rough magic would wake him.

But what he felt at this hour was quite different from anything that had ever awoken him before. Someone, or something, was using _forbidden_ magic. There were several sources of forbidden magic available to wizards, but one of the most accessible forms was a wizard family's _Book of Forbidden Spells_ which was presented to every family household that contained at least one wizard. The forbidden spell book would later be given to the Family Wizard of the household. Until then, parent wizards discouraged their children from attempting to use any of the spells in the book.

Although Jerry did not know what type of forbidden magic was being used, he was aware that it was a very powerful source. He also didn't know where in the house the magic was being used. For all he knew, the rough wizard could be right outside his bedroom door. If that was the case, he couldn't let them know that _he _knew they were in his house. The wizard would not doubt cast several ward spells that would prevent Jerry from casting any sort of offensive spell against him. Jerry would have to take _him_ out before the wizard had time to either put up defenses, or worst, take Jerry out.

Slowly he rolled on his left side facing the nightstand. His wand rested on the top by the lamp. Jerry's eyes darted to his bedroom door which was at the wall opposite the foot of his bed. The bed itself lined up perfectly with the door which was halfway open. One sudden movement too many and the rouge wizard might notice. He would have to do this right, and he would have to do it quick...the _first_ time.

Jerry reached for his wand, still keeping an eye on the door. As soon as his fingers were rapped around the hilt, he shot straight up in the bed, pointed the wand at the door and ramble off as quickly as his lips could move...

"_Grain on chain on!!_" A ball of light issued from the point of the wand and bolted across the room and out the door like lightning. There was an enormous flash of yellow in the hall, then a loud _clank_! Jerry raised an eyebrow. He had expected to hear the surprised exclamation of the captured wizard. Instead he had heard what sounded like an iron chain clanking to the floor.

Slowly he pulled back the covers and stepped out of the bed, wand still extended and a thousand battle spells zipping madly through his head. Taking nearly muted steps, he approached the door and peered through the half opening. He was astonished to see a loose chain resting in the middle of the hall. The rogue wizard was no where in sight. The spell had generated the chain, but there had been no one for the chain to chain up. It had fallen harmlessly to the floor. Still careful not to make any noise, Jerry stepped outside his bedroom. The hall was empty save the chain. He glanced over the balcony that jutted out over the downstairs hall. Nothing…at least nothing he could see. It was too dark.

"_Illuminous Spontaneous_!" A ray of light blasted from the wand, illuminating the entire downstairs floor. Nothing. Jerry flicked the wand in the air and the light extinguished.

Ok. So he couldn't _see_ the wizard performing the forbidden magic, but he could still _feel _it. He wondered if he should wake his parents, or Megan and Kelbo. Naaahhhh. No reason to get everyone all up in the air. At least not until he could pen point the source. Too much commotion would be sure to frighten the rogue wizard and he would escape before he could be captured.

Jerry teleported back to his room and reappeared on the bed with his legs crossed. Without moving from his sitting position, he reached over and opened the top drawer in his nightstand. After fumbling through the drawer with his free hand (he still clasped his wand in the other) he pulled forth a large blue crystal stone. It was a focus stone and was designed to focus upon and reveal a user of magic in a particular area. It was a less modified version that his grandfather had given him a few years back. The latest versions were designed to focus on anyone whether they were using magic or not. But those versions also tended for more interference and made it difficult to locate a particular wizards using a particular type of magic. In this case "forbidden."

Jerry held the stone in one hand while holding his wand in the other.

"_An evil wizard is in this house. Reveal to me its whereabouts_."

The stone flashed a brilliant blue and a million images became visible at once in the focus globe of the stone. After a few seconds the images jumbled together and formed one massive motion picture. Jerry's eyes went wide and fear clinched his heart as the stone revealed the "evil wizard."

"Megan?"

It _was_ Megan! She was in their Lair, wand in one hand and the family _Book of Forbidden Spells_ in the other. She was rambling off an ancient incantation. At first, Jerry couldn't understand what she was saying (focus stones carry sound slowly and sometimes the sound never catches up). Then the sound did come, and when Jerry realized just what his sister was saying, he face went pale with panic! He tossed stone back into the drawer, threw on his bed robe (wand still in hand) and bolted down the stairs.

"Megan…what have you done!?!"


	8. Chapter 8

It was 2:45 in the morning, and Megan still had not drifted off to sleep. Thoughts of hatred had transformed her mind into raging storm of bad memories, all concerning Kelbo.

The time Kelbo and replaced her skin purification potion with a pimple potion.

The time Kelbo had put invisi-glue on the toilet seat and she'd been stuck there for three hours while she was home alone.

The time Kelbo had given her a magic swimsuit for her birthday that when put on turned the wearer into a moray eel.

The time Kelbo had accidentally turned her into an avocado during a spell-improvisation test and forgot to change her back.

The time Kelbo had stolen her opera-gum and replaced it with inflate-a-head. Her head had increased three feet in diameter.

The time Kelbo did this…

The time Kelbo did that…

Kelbo this…

Kelbo that…

She rose from the bed in a fury of rage. Her eyes were glassy and red, but it was from a mixture of hatred and lack of sleep. After throwing on her bed robe, she opened the top drawer of her night stand and pulled out her wand. After popping on the ceiling-fan light, she stepped over to her closet and pointed the wand at the door.

"_I hate the family of which I'm apart. Open the door to my world of art_."

This wasn't actually the pass word to Megan's magical art studio. The door was charmed to recognize her voice, but her mood had engineered her words.

Light blasted from the crevices between the door and the doorframe. It swung open to reveal a relatively large art studio. Megan had created this alternate pocket in the universe for her own personal use. It could change to fit her mood with the slightest thought. But for the past few years, it had been her own, personal art studio. It was here that she painted her "sinister master pieces," as she called them.

When Megan had first started painting, her art had been pretty and simple. Her parents had encouraged her to continue to express her feelings in the form of art. As rifts had formed between her and the rest of the family (particularly Kelbo; she didn't care that much for Jerry either), her feelings changed from pleasant to down-right very _unpleasant_. But she took her parent's advice to heart and continued to express her feelings in her art. The result had been rather disturbing pieces of work usually consisting of her brothers caught in tragic predicaments while she stood by and watched. She had called them the "Sister on Top" series.

The first of its kind had depicted Megan sitting on the couch eating a bowl of potato chips while on television she watched her brothers be torn to pieces by prehistoric monsters. Her latest issue had pictured Jerry and Kelbo hung by the throats with nooses during the Salem witch hunts. The townspeople in the picture poked at their dead bodies with spears and pitchforks. The pieces of art varied from terrible to gory. It was a freakish way of expressing herself but expression none the less.

Megan surveyed her wicked masterpieces with an impish grin. She chuckled sinisterly as an idea for a new piece of artwork that entered her depraved mind.

_Megan speeding away on a motorboat while her brothers were left struggling in the ocean to escape the hungry jaws of a great white shark_.

The idea was invigorating and would work for the first of a new series should would begin painting in the future entitled "Every Russo for Themselves." Yes, she liked the sound of that.

As her eyes went from one painting to another, they eventually fell on one that she had not seen in ages. It was a picture of Jerry, Kelbo and herself huddled together in a sibling group-hug. Big smiles were plastered across their faces, and Megan held her baby brother, Kelbo, close like a priceless treasure. She had painted this picture when she was in elementary school.

Megan stared at the image. It had been a long time since the three of them had smile _together_ for anything. The rifts that had formed between her and her siblings would have spanned galaxies. It was rare that they smiled at each other at all (unless one was causing the other great displeasure).

Megan's eyes brimmed with tears. For a moment it would have appeared that the cold shell of hatred surrounding her heart was finally starting to melt away. She raised her hand and pointed at the image of Kelbo in the center of the painting.

_FWOOOSHHH_!!!

The portion of the picture consisting of her little brother exploded into flames.

Nope. The hatred was still there. And it would never be appeased until she had rid herself of Kelbo for good. In that hateful second, Megan knew what she would do. Making sure to keep as quiet as possible, she exited her bedroom and headed downstairs. Her destination…The Lair.

She had remembered seeing in the family's _Forbidden Book of Spell_ a spell that would allow you to rid yourself of a pest, whether human, or inhuman. There was several variations of the spell, including one for family members. She would use this spell to be rid of Kelbo for good. But what about Jerry? What he say? What would he think? No doubt he would hate her for the rest of her existence and even afterwards. For the rest of her life he would hang this moment over her, never allowing her to be relieved from the burden of guilt she knew she would definitely feel when it was all said and done. Megan had a way of getting over guilt, but not when the incident was continuously brought up over and over again. Jerry would do exactly that.

So, if she ever wanted true peace…she would have to get ride of him too. No problem. Like he wasn't a pain in the butt to contend with as well. But then, what would her parents do. They would probably disown her after they had grounded her for 400 years. There was only one thing she could do to counter this; and that was to erase her parents' memory. They would never remember that they had had two sons and it would be as if she had always been an only child. Life would be awesome!

It was a perfect plan for success, for freedom, for revenge!

When Megan entered The Lair, it didn't take her long to locate the family spell book. They all knew where there father kept it and had unrestrained access to it. They just were never allowed to perform any of the spell within the book. Their father had trusted that they wouldn't. It was a big mistake on his part.

It took only a couple seconds to find the correct spell, and after a few second thoughts that she brushed aside with ease, Megan proceeded to quote the incantation.

"_Of mothers, of fathers, of siblings I hate, _

_Redirect the paths of fate. _

_They trouble the thoughts both of day and of night, _

_Annoyances shall be removed out of sight. _

_Whether they go thither night or by day, _

_Be sent unto places far, far away. _

_Or fire, or earth, or water, or wind_…"

Megan jumped with a start as the Lair door burst open. She was more enraged than surprised to see her eldest brother standing in the doorway.

"Megan, stop right there!" he exclaimed, face pale as snow. Megan didn't answer. Her eyes narrowed as she glared wickedly at her brother. Her expression seemed to say, "Stay out of this. You're next!"

"Megan, put the spell book and wand down." Jerry was trying to sound as calm as his pounding heart would allow. She answered with a telepathic message.

"_I'm too close to freedom to turn back know_!"

"_What freedom_?" Jerry thought back. Megan didn't reply. Instead she returned her gaze to the book. Before Jerry could object any further, she rambled off the completing phrase of the spell.

"…_Kelbo may never be seen here again_!!!"

Jerry's eye's went wide as a light as bright as the sun flashed from the end of Megan's wand. There was an enormous thunderclap and the earth shook violently.

"_What have you done_?" He thought to his sister. She stared at him, refusing to answer by word or my mind; an evil glint in her black eyes.

Hatred had stolen Megan's sanity.


	9. Chapter 9

"What have you done?"

Megan's dark eyes squinted sinisterly. "I _had_ to do it Jerry. It was the only thing I could do to keep me from killing him."

"Killing him!?!"

"Jerry, you don't know what I've been through with that little brat!"

"I know he's your brother!"

"That means nothing to me." Jerry's eyes were pumping with tears. What on earth had come over his sister? What evil had stolen her heart (and her sanity)!?

"You don't mean that!"

"I mean it with all my heart!"

"You don't have a heart!"

"No, Kelbo didn't have a heart!"

"Megan, listen to you! You're insane!"

"I'm saner than I've ever been before Jerry. Sane enough to realize that you _and_ Max have made my life miserable. And now that I have the opportunity to be ride of you both, I'm going to take it!!" Megan's wand was already charged with the spell (as were all wands for several minutes after a spell had been cast). All she had to do was flick the wand and Jerry would disappear Just like Max.

He reacted with lightning speed, flicking his wand in Megan's direction. A stream of energy shot from the wand and connected with Megan's. It was an "exhaust-spell" that exhausted another wizard's wand of any left over charge after a spell had been cast from the wand being exhausted. Megan was powerless to cast the "pest spell" again without repeating the entire thing.

Jerry fired a kinetic-photon from the end of his wand. It struck the spell book in Megan's hand, knocking it clear across the room. She returned her own barrage of kinetic-photons; three to be exact. Jerry ducked just as the energy packets exploded over his head, bending the air and creating a shimmering-wave affect.

"Megan, stop!" But she didn't. Two more photons fired over the desk and down towards Jerry. He caught the photon charges in his wand and sent them spiraling back at Megan in one massive kinetic-photon. She tried to create a magic barrier, but the photon was too powerful. The field shattered. Megan slammed into the bookcase behind her, thrown back by the blunt of the kinetic energy.

Jerry scrambled to his feet and charged his sister who had slumped to the ground. He only wanted to relieve her of her wand. She wouldn't be as dangerous in that condition. But Megan was not out of the fight yet. She swung her wand forcibly at Jerry screaming.

"_Never nice, spear of ice_!" A line of blue energy issued from the wand. It quickly solidified into a barbed ice-spear. Jerry reacted instinctively, creating a force field to protect him. The ice-spear shattered with a _crash_ upon the barrier. The field gave away, and the force of released energy knocked Jerry back to the floor.

Megan rose from floor and quickly approached her brother.

"_Spider thready, hold him steady_!"

A sparkling packet of silver-white energy fired from her wand and spiraled at her brother. When the packet was just about to hit him, Jerry swung out with his own wand, striking the energy packet and yelling…

"_Astoundus Reboundus_!"

The sparkle rebounded straight at Megan. She had not time to quote a counter spell of her own before the packet hit her. The force was explosive, throwing her backwards and into the wall.

When Jerry finally scuffled to his knees, he found that his sister was plastered to the wall with an enormous mesh of silk, spider's webs. The force had not only knocked her near senseless, but her wand rested in the middle of the floor, knocked from her had when the "silk spell" hit her. She groaned in pain and in anger as she struggled to pull free of the web.

"Jerry, release me!" Jerry rose to his feet and picked up his sisters wand. This only seemed to infuriate her even the more so. She jerked violently back and forth in the silky net, screaming curses so belligerently that Jerry winced with the heart piercing stab of each word.

"You're coming with me," he said through a scratchy voice. "We're going to find Kelbo and bring him back."

"No! No we're not!" she yelled. "We are not bringing that crappy little jerk back to this house!"

"Yes, we are. And _you're_ coming with me."

"No I'm not!!"

"You don't have a choice." He reached out and touched his sister's head, allowing his magical energy to flow through her.

"Get your hand of my head!!" she screamed. "I'm not coming with you!" Jerry ignored his sister, allowing his mind to connect with the ever rushing streams of the teleportation system.

"Jerry, let me go! And give me back my wand!" Jerry continued to search the system. It only took him a few seconds to find an opening. Tossing his sisters wand on the couch behind him, he proceeded to say a spell. Megan raged in protest.

"Give me my wand you jerk! We're not going to get Kelbo. He's staying wherever he is. I _won't_ let you bring him back in this house!" The hateful words against their own flesh and blood hurt. But this was no time for an emotional segment. Their brother could be in serious trouble. He drew up tears, ignored the knot in his throat, and said the spell; his sister screaming curses all the while.

"_Our brother is gone. To where? We don't know. Magic will send us to where we must go_!"

The world about them melted away, and an astral world of shimmering images and colors ensued. They zoomed at lightning speed over places too quickly to know what they were. A jungle materialized in the swirling colors before them.

Suddenly, Jerry felt a violent jerk, and Megan was ripped from his clutches. He watched inactive as she spiraled away from him, a wicked smile on her face. This was her doing. Somehow, she had managed to break away from Jerry and was headed along her own astral pathway.

Before Jerry could even think of drawing her back to himself, she was gone, and the jungle into which he had teleported himself materialized about him. As soon as his feet touched solid earth, he looked around frantically in search of his sister. She was no where to be seen.


	10. Chapter 10

The jungle foliage was thick. Immense treetops shaded the jungle floor, blocking out 50% of the light.

Where on earth had Jerry landed himself? Well, if his wizard senses were correct, he wasn't far from Kelbo. Because he had cast the spell to help him find Kelbo, a special connection between the two had been created which would lead him (hopefully) to his brother.

His senses told him to head east. So, that's what he did. It was hard trudging through the dense jungle growth. Even with his senses telling him were to go, it was difficult to focus on and follow them. He kept getting mixed up on which way was east, and which way was west etc.

Eventually, the jungle growth began to disperse, creating less interference with "the sense." Jerry picked up the pace. Not only did he have to find his brother, but after that, he also had to locate Megan. There was no telling where his sister had turned her astral steps. She could be anywhere in the world (or even the galaxy for that matter).

Suddenly, Jerry's mental detections went crazy! Apparently his brother was using some form of magic. The violence of the disturbance was enough to make Jerry wonder if his brother was reacting in offense.

He ran. His little brother was in trouble. He just knew it. He could feel it. Just ahead, the trees where greatly dispersed, and the jungle opened into a type of clearing. His mind tingled, and he felt the presence of a second wizard besides his brother. This wizard was also using a great amount of magical power. Through the scattered trees, he could see the images of two figures moving about.

Then, it happened. An enormous fireball came spiraling out of the clearing, burning the foliage black as it moved. Kelbo held up his wand, creating a barrier upon which the blazing ball was extinguished. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, Jerry bolted into the clearing.

As soon as he came out of the trees he noticed two things. One, his brother Kelbo, and his sister Megan were on the edge of a canyon that had been hidden by the dense foliage. It seemed to go on forever in both directions. Second, his brother and sister were...fighting each other! Indeed they were. Megan stood across from Kelbo, hands raised in an after-spell position (the position in which the hands are after a spell has been cast), and the remnants of Kelbo's deflecto shield were starting to fade away.

"Megan!"

Megan turned and faced her screaming older brother, surprised at his sudden appearance. Her eyes flashed, and her teeth clinched.

"Kelbo, _do not _interfere!"

Jerry looked at Kelbo. His brother was terrified, and his eyes were glassy with tears. His face was dirty and his skin was bruised and burnt in some areas. Thanks to his big sis not doubt.

"Megan, stop! Stop it right now!"

"No!!" she screamed, and fired off another blazing ball at Kelbo. He raised his hand and deflected it. He barely had time to dodge four kinetic photons that (though weaker than those cast from a wand) would have blasted him over the edge of the canyon.

Five, black, iron spears materialized in the air, levitating around Megan. She pointed and the spears flew at Kelbo. Jerry reacted, pointing his wand at the spears. They immediately disintegrated in a blast of dark ash. Megan lost no time in recovering her failed attempt. No sooner had Jerry destroyed the spears, a huge kinetic photon was fired at Kelbo. The photon struck true, knocking him flat on his back. He groaned in agony as pain shot up through his shoulders and back.

Megan made a super leap into the air and came down standing over Kelbo. She crouched and raised her hand. There was a flash of white light, and a cruel looking knife appeared in her hand.

Jerry aimed his wand at Megan. The end glowed with the charge of a kinetic blast.

"Megan, don't..."

"I have to do this Jerry! Don't try and stop me!"

"Don't make me do this Megan! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Do what you must Jerry, because I'm gonna do what I must." Jerry knew the time for reasoning was over. Megan was insane. There was absolutely no way of convincing her that her action were wrong. She raised the knife, preparing to bring it down hard and plunge it into her brother's heart. Jerry had no choice. It was either finish Megan and save Kelbo, or allow Megan to kill him and live with the guilt for the rest of his life. He chose the former.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Kelbo screamed a bloodcurdling scream. The blade started to fall. Jerry fired of the kinetic blast. The force hit Megan like a tidal wave. The knife was halfway to her brother when she was knocked clear over the edge of the canyon!

Kelbo sat straight up screaming all the while.

"Megan!! Megan!!"

Jerry joined in his brother's cries. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He ran to the edge of the precipice.

What had _he_ done!?!


	11. Chapter 11

"So, what happened to Megan?" asked Alex excitedly.

"Yeah, how did she recover back to heath after taking a fall like that?" asked Justin.

"Well," said Jerry, "Luckily for your aunt Megan, there was a ledge of rock protruding out of the canyon wall a few feet below the precipice. She fell on that rather than plummeting to the canyon floor. It was the kinetic blast that hurt her more than falling."

"So, what happened then?"

"Well, that's the end."

"The end?"

"Yep."

"Where's the happy ending?" asked Alex.

"There is no happy ending. Beside the fact that Megan and Kelbo obviously recovered from their physical wounds, life was still the same, and remains the same until this day. Kelbo can still be annoying sometimes and Megan still hates both of us. But over the years, she has matured a bit, and expresses her hatred for her family in her art work rather than in her actions."

"So, Aunt Megan didn't learn her lesson?" asked Justin.

"The question is…did _you two _learn your lesson?" Retorted his father. The two siblings remained silent.

"Years ago, Megan would have said I would never attempt to kill my brother, but look what ended up happening a few short years later? We all nearly ended up getting killed!" There were a few moments of silence before Jerry continued. "You see what a little bit of hatred can do? Although Megan didn't kill us, she created an enormous rift between herself and the rest of the family. Now, we can't call on her for help, and she won't call on us." Alex and Justin hung their heads. "You're brother and sister. You _need _each other. If one needs something, the other is supposed to be willing to help."

"Wow," sighed Justin. "Who would have thought?" He looked at his sister, and she looked him. "Sorry," he said. "I'm sorry. I haven't been that older brother who's always there for you." Alex stepped towards Justin.

"And I haven't been the best little sister a big brother could have either. I'm sorry."

Justin put his arms around Alex and drew her close, giving her a deep, full-armed, rap-around, brother-hug. She retuned with a tight sister-hug.

"Why have you never told us that story before?" asked Alex.

"I was waiting until the right time."

"I think you picked the right time," said his daughter with a smile.

"But what are we gonna do about all these people?" asked Justin spreading his arms wide. The substation was still full of people, frozen in time. Thanks to Justin, they all knew about the existence of wizards.

"Wait!" exclaimed Alex. "I know how to fix this." She reached up and grabbed both sides of her head.

"_Cranium Revolvis_!"

There was a sickening _crack_ as every head (included Jerry and Justin's) in the station rotated around on its shoulders. When the spell was complete, Jerry and Justin grabbed madly at their heads, yelping in pain.

"Ooops! Wait, let me try again. _Crani_…"

"No!" exclaimed Justin, trying to sound as polite as possible. "I…I'll do it this time." Alex nodded a clueless smile on her face.

"_Cerebellum Erasus ~ protectus_!" A purple glow illuminated from the head of every person in substation except the three wizards (result of the "_protectus_" part of the spell). Justin then pulled out his wand and flicked it in the air."

_POW_!

Time instantly resumed.

The young man and the young lady that had challenged Justin's statements, blinked wildly and rubbed their eyes, as did all the customers in the station.

"What the…?"

"Fries or hushpuppies?" asked Jerry

"What?" asked the young man rubbing his neck.

"Fries or hushpuppies?"

"What happened?"

"Honey," whined the girl. "Why dose my neck hurt so much?"

"I don't know, but I've got a crook mine too." He winced and popped his neck.

"Sir, is everything alright?" asked Jerry.

"What do you want?" asked the boy, as if Jerry was some stranger begging for money.

"I'm trying to take your order."

"Order for what?"

"For your food!"

"I'm ordering food?"

"Uh…yeah!"

"Well…I…I can't remember! What was I ordering?" Jerry looked at the boy with pretend concern.

"Sir, do I need to call a doctor?"

"Uh…no…no. I'm fine. Baby what was I ordering?"

"How am I supposed to know?" she protested, still rubbing her sore neck.

"Young man, are you sure you don't need me to call a doctor?"

"Yeah…yeah. I'm perfectly fine."

"Then can I please have your order. Other costumers are waiting."

"Oh…sorry." With that, the young man gave Jerry their orders. Though he usually didn't approve of such liberal use of magic on mortals, this situation was perfectly _ok_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanx to all of you guys who wrote reviews and added my story to your favorites and alerts list. Makes me feel so good and encourages me to write more. So _if_ you want more...keep it up lol :) **

**Thanx again. Enjoy :) **

**Please R&R**

* * *

Alex stood on the loft deck with her wand outstretched.

"What if I say it wrong?" asked Alex nervously.

"Don't worry. You'll get it right. It's not that hard," said her older brother, giving her a boost of confidence, despite her lack of knowledge when it came to such complicated spell work.

Alex flicked the wand in the air. The end glowed with a blue intensity.

"Summinartos Procurus Thundrus Blastrartus!"

There was a flash of sapphire brilliance as dark clouds began to roll furiously across the night sky, capping the pale illumination of the full moon. Suddenly, the sky was lit with an enormous bolt of lighting, followed by another, and another! Earsplitting blasts of thunder echoed the white flashes, and the once peaceful night sky was transformed into a tumultuous electric storm!

"I did it! I did it!" screeched Alex, hugging Justin furiously. He returned the embrace.

"See, I told you." he said. Lighting zigzagged across the sky in beautiful crisscrossing patterns. "Now, you have to turn it off." laughed Justin.

Alex released Justin and returned to the edge of the loft deck. Again, she flicked her wand in the air before quoting the reverse spell.

"Blastrartus Thundrus Procurus Summinartos!" Instantly, the lightning stopped, the thunder ceased, and the dark clouds dispersed. Once again, brother and sister stood side by side in the pallid moonlight.

"Wow," sighed Alex. She turned and looked at Justin. Was he smiling at her? Yes! But it wasn't that usual, "goody-two-shoes," "I-told-you-so" kind of smirk. It was an "I'm-proud-of-you-sis" kind of smirk.

"Feels good doesn't?" asked Justin.

"If you're asking dose it feel good to do something right for a change," said Alex with a grin, "Yes…yes it dose."

Justin chuckled. "I never thought I'd ever see you casting spells like this!"

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day when my dorky older brother would be giving me lessons in wizardry."

Both laughed off the comment.

"No…no me neither," said Justin.

Alex reached out an took Justin's hand, gripping it tight and clinching her fingers between his.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Your welcome," he replied. "But this doesn't mean I'm going to take it easy on you at the Spell Caster Competition."

"Oh, trust me," said Alex with a wicked grin, "It _wont_ be easy."


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm so nervous!" exclaimed Alex, fumbling her wand nervously from hand to hand.

"Don't worry Alex," said Harper. "I'm sure you'll do perfectly. I mean, how could you not? You had _Justin _as your tutor!" She shot Justin a "flirtatious" glare, that was rather unnerving.

"That's right," said Jerry. "And you've been studying and practicing really hard for this moment. You'll do great honey."

"But what if they ask me something that Justin didn't teach me?" asked Alex.

"That's quite impossible," said Justin. "There was not one area of the Spell Caster that I did not cover. With my teachings under your belt, you'll be sure to pass the entrance test with flying colors."

"But what if I don't!" exclaimed Alex. "That means I wont be able to enter the Spell Caster, and I'll have no chance of keeping my powers!"

Jerry stepped up to Alex and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Alex, it'll be ok! Just calm down. Your brother has trained you well. You've been casting spells here lately that I never thought I'd every hear you utter in a million years! You're gonna do perfectly."

"Yeah," said Harper. "And, just assuming you did totally bum this entrance test, being a mortal isn't as bad as you think. I mean besides the fact that we can't teleport, or levitate, or fly, or do any type of magic at all…It's great!"

"Yeah," said Alex with a sarcastic flare. "Sounds lovely!"

Suddenly, there was a enormous crash of thunder, and the Lair was filled with a blue light which vanished no sooner than it appeared. Three elderly looking wizards stood in the center of the room, two men and one lady. The lady, who appeared to be the most important of the three, stepped forward with one graceful stride.

"Where is Alex Russo?" she asked, scanning the room with wide eyes set behind thick spectacles. Their abrupt appearance had taken the group by surprise. So at first, no one answered.

"We haven't all day!" exclaimed the lady. "There are other wizards with more appealing grade records that we must attend to. Will Alex Russo please step forward!"

Alex leapt from the chair to her feet.

"I…am Alex Russo."

The lady eyed Alex up and down for several minutes before speaking. "I am Elinarous Boglemethor, but you may call me Lady Elaine."

Alex was about to speak, but the Lady Elaine cut her off.

"We will conduct a series of tests upon you, assessing you magical abilities. If you pass everyone each and everyone with no more than 3 mistakes, you will be admitted into the Spell Caster. Do you understand?"

"What if there is something I don't know?" asked Alex.

"3 mistakes…and you fail," said the lady.

Alex stood in the center of the room, and Lady Elaine stood across form her on the other side of the room.

"We'll begin with a few activity questions. For this 1st set of activities, I'll cast a spell, but you must complete it. Understood?"

Alex nodded.

Lady Elaine snapped her fingers, and a large flower pot appeared in front of Alex filled with dirt and glowing with a pink radiance. Alex mind raced

_Pink…tree? No. Yes! But what kind of tree? Oh! Apple Tree!_

Alex flicked her wand, and a pink sparkle spiraled into the dirt. There was a flash of light and a sprout with a large pink blossom rose from out of the dirt. It grew and grew, sprouting more branches and hundreds of pink blossoms.

_Pow_!!!! The pot burst, and the dirt and root spoured out. In a few minutes, a full grown apple tree covered with sparkling red apples stood in the center of the room.

Lady Elaine smiled. "Excellent." She snapped her fingers and the tree, pot shard, dirt and all vanished. "Moving on…"

* * *

Alex grinned from ear to ear as Lady Elaine placed a golden Acceptance Certificate in her hand.

"You impressed me Alex." she said. "From your prior grade records, I thought that this would be a waste of time. I was wrong. We hope to see you soon and the International Spell Caster Competition. Good luck."

With that, Lady Elaine and the two male wizards vanished.

As soon and they were gone, Alex lost all dignity as she leapt into the air, waving the certificate and screaming her head off.

"I did it! I did it!" she exclaimed.

Jerry rapped his arms around Alex, hugging her tight as he kissed her on her forehead.

"See honey!" he exclaimed. "I knew you could do it! I told you!"

"Great job Alex!" said Harper as Alex wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Oh Harper, I'm soo happy! I did it! Can you believe it? I did it?"

"You did great sis," a voice cracked behind her. Alex released Harper and turned to see Justin standing a yard away from her. Where those tears in his eyes?

"Justin, why are you crying?" asked Alex stepping towards him.

"You did it!" said Justin spread his arms a then letting them drop to his side. "You did it. And I'm so proud of you!"

"You are?" asked Alex. She blinked as tears begin to blind her own eyes. Her voice had also been reduced to an emotional crack. "You really mean that?"

"Yes," said Justin. "I do."

Alex skipped forward, wrapping her arms around Justin. Justin returned the embrace.

"Thank you Justin," squeaked Alex, her vocal pitch distorted by her crying. "Thank you soo much."

"Your welcome sis…"


End file.
